Ultimate Time Rangers: Chapter 14

Tomorrow isn't Coming

The 3rd TOTAL R & D Lab staff was solely dedicated to poking and prodding at the Quantum Fire powers until they understood exactly how the morpher worked and how to replicate it.

Time Fire went through several tests in one of the lab rooms. The Quantum Ranger was slid into a small scanning chamber as technicians took scans of his spine and brain.

Later, Eric's armor was powered down and his shirt stripped. Scientists placed probes on his chest and body before sliding him back into the scanning chamber.

Technicians placed a high-tech clamp onto around the end of Eric's morpher after the scans were complete.

Eric sat up on the bio bed as a scientist pulled the probes off his chest.

"I finished setting your D-Sensor," the scientist said, referring to the device now attached to Eric's morpher.

Eric said nothing. He stood up from the bed and started getting dressed in his black slacks and black T-shirt.

"How do you feel?" the scientist asked. "Are you experiencing any side effects?"

"I feel annoyed," Eric said. "Like a guinea pig. These experiments have been going on for days."

The scientist smiled. "All you soldiers do is complain. That D-Sensor should give us all the data we need next time you morph into Time Fire. Then these experiments can stop. All we need...is that V-Commander's technology."


In full uniform, Eric walked to the lobby desk of the lab. The secretary looked to Eric when he walked by. "Sir? There's someone here to see you."

Annoyed, Eric took a deep breath. "Where?"

The secretary nodded towards the front doors. "Just inside the front lobby."

Eric looked towards the lobby and glared with annoyance at who he saw. It was Wes.

"Collins..." Wes said as he stalked towards Wes. "I thought I told you never to-"

"Just wait a second," Wes said as he held his hands up defensively. "It's not what you think. Just...come with me for a few minutes. Please..."

Confused but curious, Eric followed.


Wes led Eric into a hospital nearby. He took Eric by the arm and led him into a hospital room. A 9-year-old patient was sitting up in the hospital bed.

Eric stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, trying to maintain his cold exterior to hide his discomfort.

The boy's face lit up as Wes walked in. "Hey Wes! Did you bring Time Fire?"

Wes smiled and tossled the boy's hair. "I have a feeling he'll show up soon."

Wes picked up a large notebook and showed it to Eric. The notebook had a crayon drawing of the Quantum Ranger. "What do you think?"

"What is this about?" Eric asked.

Wes led Eric back into the hallway. "His name is Reese. I met him a couple days ago...We were hired to clean around the hospital and do some other work. We bumped into Reese when his mother admitted him. He has a heart problem...he's getting surgery tomorrow. He's scared.

"We noticed pictures he had drawn of Time Fire," Wes continued. "Apparently, he's a fan...although I'm not sure why."

Eric shook his head. "Why don't you guys show up as Time Rangers?"

"We tried that," Wes said. "But he wants Time Fire. Please...just morph and go see him. And be nice to him."

Eric rubbed the back of his neck and turned to walk away. "I don't have time for this..."

The hospital alarms suddenly started to go off. Wes and Eric ran over to a nurse sitting behind a desk.

"What's wrong?" Wes asked the nurse.

"Nothing," the nurse said. "Please...just have a seat and stay calm."

Eric pushed Wes aside and stepped closer to the nurse. "Nurse, what's going on."

She was startled when she recognized his uniform. "Our computer server has some kind of virus..."

A doctor frantically walked towards the nurse. "Nurse! I can't get inside my own operating room. There's a man in there who's about to die!"

The computer monitor in front of the nurse flickered as a video image appeared. It was a criminal with pale-gray skin. Patches of green/blue muscle tissue protruded at various places across the villain's body.

Only a clear glass-like shell covered the villain's green/blue and pale-gray brain. A pair of black lenses covered his eyes.

"Greetings," the being said. "I'm the one making the computers go crazy. Unless I get $10 million, I'm afraid quite a few people in that hospital of yours is going to die."

Wes moved to the side of the hospital's hallway. "Takku..."

"Wes!" Takku said over the communicator. "Yuugento has control of every hospital in the city, not just the one you are in!"


Wes and Eric sprinted to a run-down pier near a large lake that bled out into the ocean. The pier had several wooden boat houses and dock houses in poor repair. Takku had tracked the criminal to this location.

Eric looked at the pier with a quizzical expression on his face. "The Londaraz would be at this place?"

They heard what sounded like the whine of a computer processor come from a shed nearby. They entered the shed to see an old man sitting by a desktop computer.

"Can I help you?" the man asked when he saw Wes and Eric.

Wes and Eric senses trouble and subtlety prepared their morphers.

"We're sorry," Wes said. "We didn't think anyone was in here."

"Hm," the man said as he nodded. "I guess you were wrong."

The man dropped his holographic disguise and revealed himself to be Yuugento. The criminal extended a wand and fired a turquoise-colored energy beam that speared towards the two rangers.

They quickly morphed into their armor as the blast exploded against them with bursts of spark. The blast sent the two Rangers splintering through the wall and rolling across the wooden deck outside.

Yuugento stepped through the hole in the wall and onto the dock, slowly stalking towards the two red-armored Rangers.

Time Red and Time Fire rose to their feet and turned to face the villain.

"DV-Defender!" Time Fire shouted as he drew his sidearm.

"Double Vector!" Time Red shouted as he armed his double-blade saber.

The two Rangers triggered their weapons. A blade of crimson energy and lances of red energy shot forward. The villain quickly scanned the Rangers' weapons and adapted. The blasts moved harmlessly through the creature's body and exploded against the shelter house, shattering wood with violent explosions of flame and smoke.

The villain laughed mockingly at the Rangers. "My sensors can adapt to your every weapon..."

The villain extended his hand and snapped out a pair of gray tendrils. The tendrils wrapped tightly across the Rangers' necks. The criminal sent a continuous charge of electric, turquoise-tinted energy along the tendril. The electric pulses danced across the Rangers armor with a volley of explosions, sparks thrashing across their bodies and helmets relentlessly.

One of the blasts pierced the scanner on Time Fire's morpher, causing a strange energy pulse to cover the Quantum Ranger's body.

The villain released his grasp. Time Red and Time Fire collapsed onto the deck, smoke still rising from their armor.

Time Green and Time Yellow suddenly ran onto the scene with their Vol weapons. They fired yellow and green energy pulse blasts that the criminal easily swatted aside with his wand.

The criminal turned and fired a lance of turquoise energy that exploded against the two Rangers' armor with bursts of spark.

Time Blue and Time Pink leapt onto the scene and swung their weapons down towards the criminal. Yuugento parried the blow and kicked the two Rangers aside.

Time Red darted towards the creature and snapped a spinning crescent kick that the villain ducked under. Time Red continued the spin and swung the back of his fist towards the criminal's head.

Yuugento blocked the blow and thrashed his wand across the Ranger's chest, the weapon sparking on impact. The villain speared his weapon against the Red Ranger's chest, sending him crashing backward through the deck and into the water below.

Yuugento turned and aimed his wand towards Time Fire. The villain fired.

Time Fire watched helplessly as the energy burst streaked towards his visor...


Eric's armor was powered down and his shirt stripped. Scientists placed probes on his chest and body before sliding him back into the scanning chamber.

Technicians placed a high-tech clamp onto around the end of Eric's morpher after the scans were complete.

Eric sat up on the bio bed as a scientist pulled the probes off his chest.

"I finished setting your D-Sensor," the scientist said, referring to the device now attached to Eric's morpher.

Eric said nothing. He stood up from the bed and started getting dressed in his black slacks and black T-shirt.

"How do you feel?" the scientist asked. "Are you experiencing any side effects?"

"I feel annoyed," Eric said. "Like a guinea pig. These experiments have been going on for days."

The scientist smiled. "All you soldiers do is complain. That D-Sensor should give us all the data we need next time you morph into Time Fire. Then these experiments can stop. All we need...is that V-Commander's technology."

Eric narrowed his brow. Déjà vu...

The scientist tilted his head at Eric's puzzlement. "Is something the matter.

Eric shook his head. "Just tired."


In full uniform, Eric walked to the lobby desk of the lab. The secretary looked to Eric when he walked by. "Sir? There's someone here to see you."

Annoyed, Eric took a deep breath. "Where?"

The secretary nodded towards the front doors. "Just inside the front lobby."

Eric looked towards the lobby and glared with annoyance at who he saw. It was Wes.

"Collins..." Wes said as he stalked towards Wes. "I thought I told you never to-"

"Just wait a second," Wes said as he held his hands up defensively. "It's not what you think. Just...come with me for a few minutes. Please..."

Eric could not shake the feeling of Déjà vu...


Wes led Eric into a hospital nearby. He took Eric by the arm and led him into a hospital room. A 9-year-old patient was sitting up in the hospital bed.

The boy's face lit up as Wes walked in. "Hey Wes! Did you bring Time Fire?"

Wes smiled and tossled the boy's hair. "I have a feeling he'll show up soon."

Eric narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "Reese...I was just here."

Wes raised his eyebrows. "Huh?"

Eric stepped out into the hall as Wes followed.

"Eric wait, let me explain..." Wes said. "I met Reese a couple days ago...We were hired to clean around the hospital and do some other work. We bumped into Reese when his mother admitted him. He has a heart problem...he's getting surgery tomorrow. He's scared..."

Eric placed his hand on his forehead, feelings of Déjà vu overwhelming him. "I remember this...the alarm is about to go off..."

The hospital alarms suddenly started to go off. Wes and Eric ran over to a nurse sitting behind a desk.

"What's wrong?" Wes asked the nurse.

"Nothing," the nurse said. "Please...just have a seat and stay calm."

"The Londaraz," Eric said. "They've hacked into the hospital's computer..."

Eric sprinted towards the hospital exit as Wes followed. "Eric wait!"


Wes and Eric sprinted to a run-down pier near a large lake that bled out into the ocean. The pier had several wooden boat houses and dock houses in poor repair. Eric led Wes into the boathouse where the villain was waiting.

"You!" Eric shouted when he saw the old man.

The man dropped his holographic disguise and revealed himself to be Yuugento. The criminal extended a wand and fired a turquoise-colored energy beam that speared towards the two rangers.

They quickly morphed into their armor as the blast exploded against them with bursts of spark. The blast sent the two Rangers splintering through the wall and rolling across the wooden deck outside.

Yuugento stepped through the hole in the wall and onto the dock, slowly stalking towards the two red-armored Rangers.

Time Red and Time Fire rose to their feet and turned to face the villain.

"DV-Defender!" Time Fire shouted as he drew his sidearm.

"Double Vector!" Time Red shouted as he armed his double-blade saber.

The two Rangers triggered their weapons. A blade of crimson energy and lances of red energy shot forward. The villain quickly scanned the Rangers' weapons and adapted. The blasts moved harmlessly through the creature's body and exploded against the shelter house, shattering wood with violent explosions of flame and smoke.

The villain laughed mockingly at the Rangers. "My sensors can adapt to your every weapon..."

The villain extended his hand and snapped out a pair of gray tendrils. The tendrils wrapped tightly across the Rangers' necks. The criminal sent a continuous charge of electric, turquoise-tinted energy along the tendril. The electric pulses danced across the Rangers armor with a volley of explosions, sparks thrashing across their bodies and helmets relentlessly.

One of the blasts pierced the scanner on Time Fire's morpher, causing a strange energy pulse to cover the Quantum Ranger's body.

The villain released his grasp. Time Red and Time Fire collapsed onto the deck, smoke still rising from their armor.

Time Fire rolled his hands into fists. "It's happening again....exactly like before..."

Time Green and Time Yellow suddenly ran onto the scene with their Vol weapons. They fired yellow and green energy pulse blasts that the criminal easily swatted aside with his wand.

The criminal turned and fired a lance of turquoise energy that exploded against the two Rangers' armor with bursts of spark.

Time Blue and Time Pink leapt onto the scene and swung their weapons down towards the criminal. Yuugento parried the blow and kicked the two Rangers aside.

Time Red darted towards the creature and snapped a spinning crescent kick that the villain ducked under. Time Red continued the spin and swung the back of his fist towards the criminal's head.

Yuugento blocked the blow and thrashed his wand across the Ranger's chest, the weapon sparking on impact. The villain speared his weapon against the Red Ranger's chest, sending him crashing backward through the deck and into the water below.

Yuugento turned and aimed his wand towards Time Fire. The villain fired.

Time Fire watched helplessly as the energy burst streaked towards his visor...


Eric sat up on the bio bed as a scientist pulled the probes off his chest.

"I finished setting your D-Sensor," the scientist said, referring to the device now attached to Eric's morpher.

Eric said nothing. He stood up from the bed and started getting dressed in his black slacks and black T-shirt.

"How do you feel?" the scientist asked. "Are you experiencing any-"

"What the hell is going on?" Eric asked.

The scientist narrowed his eyes with concern. "What do you mean..."

"It's happening again..." Eric said as he bolted out of the room. "How long has this been going on...a day...a week..."


Eric bolted into the lobby, where Wes was waiting for him. But Eric kept walking.

"Just wait a second," Wes said as he followed Eric outside. "It's not what you think. Just...come with me for a few minutes. Please..."

"To visit Reese, right?" Eric said as he walked faster.

Wes narrowed his eyes. "How did you know?"

Eric turned and grabbed Wes by the collar. "Because I know!" Eric tossed Wes aside. "Now don't follow me..."

Eric ran towards the docks.


Wes and Eric sprinted to a run-down pier near a large lake that bled out into the ocean. The pier had several wooden boat houses and dock houses in poor repair. Takku had tracked the criminal to this location.

"Why..." Eric said as he tensed his fists, questioning his own sanity. "Why do I keep coming here..."

"Eric..." Wes said with a look of concern on his face. "What's wrong..."

Eric dropped down and slammed his fist against the ground. "I don't know...The Londaraz. They're here. I've been fighting them over and over...living the same day over and over..."

Wes raised his eyebrow in disbelief. "Okay...yeah. Why don't you wait here. I'll see if I can find anything strange…and figure out what's going on."

Wes moved towards the shed where the villain was inside.

"Collins don't!" Eric shouted as he watched Wes go in.

Eric breathed heavily, his eyes fixated on the building.

Time Red suddenly splintered through the wall and skid across the dock. The Red Ranger rose to his feet and snapped into a fighting stance next to Eric. Eric breathed heavily, panic threatening to consume him as Yuugento stepped out of the hole and walked towards them.

"Eric," Time Red said. "Come on, morph..."

Eric's eyes stared down blankly. "You can't run away from your life."

"What?" Time Red said. "Eric, now is not the time to go crazy. Morph into Time Fire and fight!"

But Eric could not think clearly enough to do it. "No!" he said as he pushed Time Red away. "I've had enough..."

The villain extended his hand and snapped out a pair of gray tendrils. The tendrils wrapped tightly across the Time Red and Eric's necks. The criminal sent a continuous charge of electric, turquoise-tinted energy along the tendril. The electric pulses danced across the Time Red and Eric with a volley of explosions. Eric's suit only partially protected him as serious burns scorched his skin as bones snapped from the strain.

One of the blasts pierced the scanner on Time Fire's morpher.

The villain released his grasp. Time Red and Eric collapsed onto the deck.

Time Green and Time Yellow suddenly ran onto the scene with their Vol weapons. They fired yellow and green energy pulse blasts that the criminal easily swatted aside with his wand.

The criminal turned and fired a lance of turquoise energy that exploded against the two Rangers' armor with bursts of spark.

Time Blue and Time Pink leapt onto the scene and swung their weapons down towards the criminal. Yuugento parried the blow and kicked the two Rangers aside.

Eric shook his head frantically as he crawled backward across the deck. "We can't beat him. It's fate...we can't change it..."

"Eric," Time Red said. "Come on, pal, snap out of it..."

The villain stalked towards them.

Time Red darted towards the creature and snapped a spinning crescent kick that the villain ducked under. Time Red continued the spin and swung the back of his fist towards the criminal's head.

Yuugento blocked the blow and thrashed his wand across the Ranger's chest, the weapon sparking on impact. The villain speared his weapon against the Red Ranger's chest, sending him crashing backward through the deck and into the water below.

Eric watched in horror as the creature stalked towards him. "This is it...it's going to happen again..."

Eric noticed smoke rising from his morpher. Then he realized it wasn't his morpher, but the sensor attached to the morpher. "Of course..." he said as he tried to pry the sensor off. "It's been this damn thing all along..."

Yuugento aimed his wand towards Eric. The villain fired.

Eric watched helplessly, fear burned in his eyes,  as the energy burst streaked towards his face...

And Time Red suddenly leapt in front of the blast, explosions sparking on his chest and whipping his body backward. The Red Ranger crashed against the deck, his armor still wet from the water below.

"Wes..." Eric said in disbelief.

 "Eric..." Time Red said, smoke still rising from his armor. "You can change fate...all it takes is one person."

Eric's mind slowly started to clear as he was re-integrated into the time stream. He slowly climbed back to his feet and helped Time Red up. "That's kind of optimistic, Collins..."

"Collins?" Time Red said. "You called me Wes a second ago..."

Eric ripped the sensor from his brace. "Now you're going crazy..."

Time Red smiled beneath his helmet. The Red ranger dashed forward and swung his weapon down towards the villain's head. The criminal parried the blow and thrashed his wand across the Red ranger's armor. Explosions sparked on impact and sent him crashing to the ground.

"Wes!" Eric said as he kneeled down near the Ranger. He looked up and glared at the creature, who was laughing at the top of his lungs.

Eric slowly rose to his feet and armed his morpher. "Quantum Fire!!" Fiery energy circled around him as he morphed into his Ranger form.

Time Red slowly rose to his feet and stood besides Time Fire as the other four Rangers regrouped around them. For the first time, all six Rangers stood together.

The villain scoffed. "You are becoming a real pain in my ass!"

The criminal fired an energy lance that exploded around the Rangers with bursts of spark. Time Red and Time Fire ran through the explosions and charged towards their opponent.

The two Rangers pounced forward and tackled the creature to the ground. They rolled back to their feet and turned to face the villain while opening fire with their weapons. But the criminal swatted their crimson energy blasts away and fired an energy burst from his wand, which exploded against the two Rangers with a burst of spark, knocking them off their feet.

The villain laughed mockingly at the Rangers. "My sensors can adapt to your every weapon..."

"Eric," Time Red said. "We have to cover our attacks. Get behind me."

Time Red armed both his Vector Sabers and charged towards the villain, while Time Fire ran behind the Red Ranger. The villain fired energy bursts that exploded against Time Red's armor.

Time Fire suddenly dropped to his chest and opened fire from between Time Red's legs. The villain didn't see the attack coming in time to scan it, so lances of red energy exploded against his chest with bursts of energy, knocking the wand from his hand.

Time Red leapt through the air and energized his sabers.

"Time Strike!" Time Red shouted as he swung both weapons downward through streaks of power. The blades thrashed across the villain with a massive burst of spark.

Time Fire extended his blade. "DV-Defender...final mode." The Quantum Ranger dashed towards the villain, his blade pulsing with blue fire.

 

"DV Freezer!" Time Fire shouted as he swung his weapon downward in an x-shaped pattern, streaks of energy thrashing through the villain's body.

The criminal stumbled backward as tendrils of blue energy danced across his body like electricity, exploding with bursts of spark. The villain fell backward and exploded as Time Red and Time Fire stood, snapping into victory poses. 

The villain's patch was torn, and his DNA reacted by expanding, causing the villain to grow giant.

"Takku!" Time Red shouted into his brace.

"Yokai," Takku answered. The droid activated his temporal transceiver. "3-D system, stand by for launch!"


Angel Grove, 3006AD

In the north section of the city sat a circular command complex with several rectangular buildings webbing out from the main compound. A yellow and black giant-sized robo stomped around the perimeter of the compound near a tall gate shaped like an upside down 'V.' A runway connected the gate to the complex.

A lone figure sat in the observatory that looked out upon the runway. He answered Takku's call.

A platform of five Time Jets surfaced at the end of the runway. The platform rotated and lined the red-trimmed jet into position.

The Providus zord swung its massive fist towards the Time Jet. The fist smashed against the Time Jet and throttled the vessel forward. The Time Jet accelerated closer to the Time Gate, and disappeared through the gate, leaving a trail of energy vapor in its wake.

One-by-one, Providus slammed the Time Jets through the Gate. The five zords flew in tight formation and throttled backward through the time stream as the Time Shadow lined up to launch next.


Angel Grove, 2006AD

A wormhole opened in the sky and the five zords streaked through, swooping down into the atmosphere.

"Time Flier," Time Red commanded as the Time Flier hovered past their location.

The Time Rangers leapt onto the Flier. The Flier carried them over their five Time Jets, traveling at frightful speeds. Time Red and the others jumped off the Time Flier and fell into their cockpits.

"3-D Formation..." Time Red commanded as he grasped control levers to his side. "Time Robo, Beta!"

The Time Jets stayed in tight formation and flew across the streets. Each zord started to reassemble and combine into a giant, blue-armored zord. The 3-D formation completed as the Rangers activated their zord: the Time-Force Megazord, Mode Blue.

A shadow started to cover the sun like an eclipse. Then the eclipse revealed itself to be a time portal. A V-shaped ship blasted through the portal.

The zord climbed upward and twisted while in mid-flight. Time Shadow started to change shape and form a warrior mode. The black zord armed two double-edged blue blades, and its eyes pulsed with pale-blue energy.

The two zords landed side-by-side and snapped into defensive stances.

The villain's eyes pulsed with power. Its mind sensed that Time Shadow was automated. The criminal took control of the black zord with ease. Time Shadow turned and slashed its blades across the Megazord's chest with a burst of spark.

Below, Time Fire activated his brace. "Charge!V-Rex!"

Quantum Ranger looked to his zord as it stomped onto the city streets from the distance. "Voice formation...V-Rex Robo!"

V-Rex shifted shape as it rose up, assuming a humanoid warrior form. The zord had a massive right fist and a revolving missile cannon in place of its left fist. The Megazord still had its tail, and green emitter disks were mounted on the zord's shoulders.

"Revolver cannon!" Time Fire shouted.

V-Rex's left cannon spun while shooting a volley of red missiles. The missiles exploded against the criminal with massive bursts of smoke and flame, forcing the villain back a few steps.

"V-Rex Knuckle!" Time Fire shouted. "Engage!"

The V-Rex fist energized and shot forward. The fist exploded against Time Shadow's armor with a massive burst of spark.

"Eric!" Time Yellow shouted. "What's the big idea? That's our zord!"

"Are you awake now, Time Shadow?" Time Fire asked.

The knuckle blast had jarred Time Shadow loose from the villain's control. Time Shadow quickly turned and slashed its blades across the villain's body.

"V-Rex!" Time Fire shouted. "MAX Blizzard!"

V-Rex's shoulder cannons fired streams of jade-tinted energy that exploded against the criminal with a massive display of power. The blast caused a chain reaction that caused the villain to shrink and enter a state of suspended animation.

Eric breathed a sigh of relief after powering down his armor. "It's been a long day..."


 Wes and the other rangers walked into the hospital the next day to wish Reese well.

"Eric never came?" Wes asked.

"Are you really surprised?" Lucas said as they turned a corner.

They stopped in their tracks at what they saw up ahead. Time Fire was standing above the boy's bed, which was about to be rolled into the surgery room. The Quantum Ranger placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"You'll be fine, Reese..." Time Fire said. "Don't give up."

The boy smiled up at his hero.

To be continued...Chapter Fifteen



 

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